National Library of Scotland April and May events

EVENTS

'Hu, Hei,
Duncan Gray!': Scotland in the Scandinavian musical imagination, Tuesday 7 April, 19.00-20.30
A special lecture-recital exploring Scotland in the
Scandinavian musical imagination, with mezzo-soprano and musicologist Dr Sally
Garden and pianist Donald Hawksworth. Hear auld familiar folksongs, Scots
ballads, romantic 'skotske' opera arias, and exquisite Scandinavian settings of
Robert Burns, drawn from Norway,
Sweden and Finland.
Celebrating Scotland's
'Year of Homecoming'.

Ghost Fest talk: 'A
literary tour of Scots scares', Tuesday 12 May, 19.00-20.00
What
influenced great writers like James Hogg and Robert Louis Stevenson to create
tales of the macabre? What has been their modern-day legacy? Dr Penny Fielding,
from Edinburgh University's
Centre for Scottish Writing in the Nineteenth Century, sheds some light on Scotland's dark
literary past. In partnership with the award-winning 'Mary
King's Ghost Fest'.

The Austrian
connection: Haydn's Scottish songs. Thursday 21 May, 19.00-20:30

Over 400 folksong
arrangments by Franz Joseph Haydn for three Scottish publishers constitute some
of the composer's finest and most sensitive works for voice and instruments.
Professor Marjorie Rycroft of Glasgow
University talks about
the contribution made by the 'inimitable and immortal Haydn' to George
Thomson's 'Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs'.

EXHIBITIONS

Scots Music Abroad, From 6 March to 23 May

Take a musical journey round the world to discover the
story behind Scots music and its legacy. 'Scots Music
Abroad' reveals the influence of Scots and their music in the 'New World' countries of the Commonwealth. Our exhibition
also shows how Scottish music from overseas is now influencing music within Scotland. The
journey explores the worldwide legacy of Scots music, from Haydn's arrangements
of Scottish tunes to fiddle music from Canada. Supporting Homecoming
Scotland 2009.

Zig Zag: the Paths of Robert Burns, Aberdeen: 14 February to 11 April

A major national touring exhibition brings together Robert Burns treasures held by
several organisations in Scotland.
Iconic pictures, manuscripts, books and museum
artefacts help us explore the poet's
life, work and relationships and his travels round the country. 2009 is the
250th anniversary of Burns' birth. The National
Burns Collection touring exhibition is part of the events programme for Homecoming
Scotland 2009.

Books